


The Moon In His Arms

by The_Evil_Critic_From_Hell



Series: Moon and Shield [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Felix loves and cares about Dimitri so much it hurts me soul, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, In which Felix makes Dimitri rest, M/M, Post-Canon, Romantic Fluff, idk I suck at tags guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 12:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21016076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Evil_Critic_From_Hell/pseuds/The_Evil_Critic_From_Hell
Summary: Dimitri is overworking himself, so Felix forces the king to take a break."... What?""As I said. Lay down."Dimitri let out a sigh. "Felix, I do not have time for-""I wasn't asking."





	The Moon In His Arms

**Author's Note:**

> I sort of felt bad about the last Felix/Dimitri fic I wrote, since I sort of dragged Felix through the dirt. And so, as an apology to his character, here is a Felix who finds happiness.
> 
> It's not a good thing. But it's a happy thing.
> 
> Related to my fic "Moonless Field of Red" vaguely.

“I'm sorry, Felix,” said King Dimitri as he loomed over his desk, writing quill in hand. As he spoke, he did not glance up from the pile of parchments before him. “I will join you soon. I just need to finish up that last of this and I will be with you shortly.”

The office space was large and spacious. The king sat at a carved wooden table of cherry wood, adorned simply with their nation’s symbol: a golden knight upon a mighty griffin. Bookshelves lined the walls, full of history and finances, and a small table with two chairs were on the right, prepared to entertain any guests. The room was will-lit with natural sunlight from the large windows on the wall to Dimitri’s back. It was a pleasant environment, perfect for working on book keeping and kingly duties. Dimitri has been spending a lot of time here recently.

Felix stood in front of the desk with a frown, arms folded across his chest as he watched Dimitri with narrowed eyes. There sat the king, slumped and bowed, as his fingers weakly gripped his quill. Each letter and word he wrote was slow and labored. His attention seemed to waver every ten seconds where he would blink blankly at his work, before drawing in a deep breath to reawaken himself. There were bags under his eyes. 

“Oh,” Dimitri continued absentmindedly before Felix could reply. His tired gaze flitted over to series of messages and letters that were still sealed and unread. “But I still have to respond to those. Haha. And now that I think about it, I forgot that I need to approve of the building designs for the homeless shelters and orphanages.” Unconsciously he slid down in his chair, sinking into its velvet as his shoulders hunched. “Did I already sign off on those donations to Mercedes’ school? I cannot remember… Where did I put that paper…” He started to clumsily leaf through the disaster that was on his desk in search of it. 

There was a strained smile as he spoke, with his eyebrows furrowed together and a daze in his eye. 

The duke was not pleased. "Don't tell me you didn't plan ahead, Dimitri," the raven-haired duke grumbled with irritation. His finger tapped against his arm as he watched Dimitri nearly topple over a particularly large stack of documents. The muscles in his legs twitched in earnest to help but he refrained from moving from where he stood. "You gave your word that you would spar with me today."

"So I did..." There was guilt in the king's voice. "And I intend to keep my word. I beg that you just give me another hour-" as he said this that tower of documents lurched sideways as Dimitri knocked into it with his elbow, sending a flurry of papers drifting across the blue carpet. Both men watched, neither moving, as the chaos settled. "... Maybe two," Dimitri said sheepishly. Heaving a sigh he rose from his chair and got down on his knees to pick up the pieces. 

Felix rubbed his temples as he shook his head. "Ridiculous. None of that stuff is going anywhere. Just leave it and come back to it later."

The blonde man shook his head. "Felix, I already left all of this to pile up once. I cannot fail my duty again." He placed some of the papers he had collected back onto the desk and continued to get the rest. 

"... Arg, that was over a year ago. Don't carry around that guilt with you or you are going to break your back by the weight of it." 

"Preceded by five years of abandoning my people and my duty, slaughtering generals and soldiers like an animal." He heaved another round of documents back into the desk, carefully avoiding Felix's gaze. "I have not earned my atonement. Rather... I never will. But I promise, Felix, as soon as I finish up this work, I will join you outside. I just need to find my letter to Mercedes about her school, I know I have it around here somewhere-" He bumped into the desk with his back and those papers he had just collected came flying off once more. They rained down around him. His shoulders sagged, his expression exhausted. 

Something inside of the duke snapped. Hissing through his teeth, he stormed over to the room's entrance and flung the door open to see the two guards that stood nearby. The both of them flinched as the wooden door slammed against its hinges, and upon hearing Felix barking at them.

“Hey, you!” he turned with a growl towards the nearest guard. “Let everyone know that the rest of the king’s plans for the day are cancelled, and make sure he is undisturbed.”

“Y-yes sir!” she saluted. She glanced towards the other guard with a look of wonder as Felix shut the door with a bang and stomped over to the king. 

“W-wait, what?” Dimitri was visibly startled as Felix grabbed his arm and clumsily dragged him off the floor. The king could have thrown Felix across the room if he ever so desired, but he did not fight to stay in his spot. “Felix, what are you-“

"Shut up, and come with me," snapped the duke as he led Dimitri to a small door to the left of the room. He pushed it open with a huff and continued to lead the king by the arm into the other room. It was a lounge, small and comfortable, with a large sofa on the far wall and a porcelain furnace in the corner. Felix guided Dimitri to the sofa and made him sit upon it. Blinking, distant and confused, Dimitri watched as Felix marched over to the door to shut it, then to the windows. He drew the heavy curtains closed. Everything darkened with only enough sunlight peeking out from the cracks of the fabric to illuminate the room. 

"Now lay down," commanded Felix. He turned on his heel and folded his arms to stare at Dimitri, waiting for him to do as he was told.

"... What?" 

"As I said. Lay down."

Dimitri let out a sigh. "Felix, I do not have time for-"

"I wasn't asking." Felix was upon him in seconds. He grabbed the back of the sofa, his arms on either side of Dimitri's head, as his face loomed close to the king's. Strands of his bangs fell and brushed by Dimitri's nose, and a flush crossed the king's face as he felt his heart skip a beat. "Lay down."

If he really wanted to, both he and Felix knew that Dimitri could forcibly push past him and return to his desk. But he did not do such a thing. The look on Felix's face, that mixture of frustration and care, made Dimitri feel the need to comply. Begrudgingly he ducked under Felix's arm to lay down on the soft velvet of the cushion, his legs still over the edge of the sofa with his feet on the ground. He could not look away from Felix, who's eyebrow and the corner of his lips twitched. 

"... And all the way."

"Felix-"

A sharp intake of breath from Felix made Dimitri quickly pull his legs up as well so that he lay completely across the sofa. This earned him a nod from the duke, who finally withdrew his hands to stand up straight. "Good," said the swordsman. "Now close your eyes."

The king pushed himself upwards a bit at the command. "Felix, this is unnecessary."

"If I do not tell you to close your eyes, you will just lay there pointlessly."

"That is not what I-" Dimitri rubbed the bridge of his nose with his eye squeezed shut. "... I am fine, Felix. If I must, I only need a few minutes to rest my eye. Then I must get back to my work."

Felix clicked his tongue as he indicated to Dimitri's entire body. "Have you seen yourself today? You are a mess. You look ready to keel over. That idiot Gustave may be fine with you doing your kingly duties looking like that, but I am not."

His tone was sharp but Dimitri could hear something else in his voice. It was no longer hard for him to hear when Felix was concerned for him. His heart skipped another beat. Biting his lip, he reached out and hooked a finger around Felix's. "Even so, this is what I must do. I have so much to do, so much to make up for. I must prove my worth as king. The people may have accepted me but there is still so much unrest and suffering on the streets. I want to help them."

The duke grunted, frustrated. The fool was blind in more ways than one if he continued to believe that he still had not proven himself as a worthy king at all. Must he continue to put himself down? "If you keep up at this pace, you are going to wear yourself into the ground. Then what good will you be to the nation? And to your friends?"

_And me?_ Felix dared not utter those words out loud. They were too embarrassing. Unconsciously, the hand that was connected with Dimitri's shifted so that their fingers were intertwined. The king's fingers were chilled; the duke's warm and slender. Dimitri could not help but smile softly as this rare display of gentle affection. 

"I feel as if you have given me that very same speech as before. But..." He gave Felix's hand a small squeeze. "Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to sleep. There is simply too much on my mind."

There was a pause between them. Dimitri was leaning on his forearm to keep his head raised but still laid across the sofa. His thumb began to rub Felix's hand lovingly, happy to know that his closest companion, that his beloved, would care so much about him. In his heart he knew he did not deserve someone such as Felix, someone who had stood by him even at his worst. He, along with everyone else, should have left him to die in battle. They should have left a monster like him to rot in a sewer. But, they didn't. And out of all of them, it had been Felix who had adamantly fought for him the hardest. He, along with Byleth, believed that he could come back from the depths. And when the war had ended, Dimitri would never in his wildest dreams have guessed that he and Felix would share a kiss in a darkened hallway, or have had wandering hands over their war-hardened bodies. To hold hands when they needed each other close by, or to have Felix's arms wrapped around his waist at night with his face resting against his back. It felt like a fantasy, one he did not earn. 

At length, Felix pulled his hand away from Dimitri's, leaving his fingers stretched out slightly towards him. Dimitri pressed his lips together as he looked down; his hand felt heavy and cold. Should he apologize? He knew that Felix cared not for what he just said. But he couldn't pretend in front of Felix. Not even if he wanted to. 

Then, without a word, Felix suddenly plopped down on the sofa. Before Dimitri could react, the duke reached up and pulled Dimitri's head into his lap. The king's heart beat hard in his rib cage he felt Felix start to stroke his hair. His cheeks were bright red. 

"F-Felix?!"

"Shut up and close your eyes now." He tucked some of Dimitri's loose strands behind his ear. His lap was soft and warm, and Dimitri could feel Felix's stomach rise and fall with each slow breath rhythmically. 

"But, did you not hear what I said? And what about sparring with you?"

"Hmph. I didn't really want to spar, you idiot. I wanted to get you out of that damn room." At least, that had been the plan until this fool kept toppling over those paper towers. His fingers ghosted through those golden locks. "You've been in there for days, and you've barely slept. Now, stop talking." 

_Focus on my hands._

He had learned over the past year that Dimitri still struggled to sleep through the night. Whenever he has awoken to Dimitri's painful whimpers from his fitful nightmares, all he had to do was pull him closer and caress his hair. It soothed him, comforted him, and seemed to chase away the nightmares that plagued him for the remainder of the night. He was sure Dimitri had not consciously picked up on this yet, but he preferred it that way.

Even now, the tension in Dimitri's shoulders was slipping away. He watched as Dimitri pulled his hands up to his chest and snuggled into his thighs. "I... I shouldn't..." 

His voice faltered, so Felix said nothing. He had said his piece, and he knew that it was only a matter of time now before Dimitri would drift off to sleep. And he knew how much he needed this.

"This is not right... I should... should be working..." Dimitri still mumbled on. "It's really not that bad, you know. I've endured worse."

And then, out of the blue, he turned to gaze up at Felix. “Why didn’t you give up on me?”

Felix's fingers halted. “What?” 

"All those years ago. I should have been left behind. I... I was.. am, a monster." His lips trembled. 

"Hmph. That mind of yours..." Felix sighed as he resumed to stroke Dimitri's hair. And then, quietly, almost inaudibly. “… I couldn’t. I wanted you to be the king you were meant to be. And the friend that I knew... The person I loved.”

"What?"

"Just stop talking and sleep." Felix felt his ears burn. "If you were a monster, then I wouldn't be here with you."

"..." Dimitri had a phantom of a smile at those words. "... I see." 

"What brought on those thoughts, anyway?" It has been quite some time since Dimitri had called himself anything akin to a demon or a beast, and curiosity got the best of Felix.

"I... had a dream..." Felix listened closely as Dimitri spoke. "Edelgard had won... and I had died. Everyone had died... Except you, Felix. I was so happy... So happy you did not die for me. But, I couldn't help but feel you looked so... Sad. As if you had something to tell me. You even called me a monster. A boar." His eyelids fluttered downward as he said this. "It all felt so real. And to be called a boar again by you made me realize that perhaps I am still one."

The duke's hand wandered from Dimitri's hair and brushed across his cheekbone. "Stupid, it was just a dream. When did you even have it?" 

The gesture was soothing, earning a happy sigh from the king. "I cannot recall. The memory is clear but the details are fuzzy. Perhaps it was around the time I got lost in the woods for a few days."

"Hmph, another reason for you to stop talking then and sleep. If you are getting lost in a forest, and you are having stupid dreams, then you are not sleeping enough." 

"Perhaps... you are right... Just a dream..." Felix felt as Dimitri seemed to let himself sink deeper into the sofa and into his thighs. His words were becoming slower and heavier as he began to lose the battle to the sandman. Good. 

"Felix?" 

"What, Dimitri?"

"...ove..." And without saying anything more, the king was asleep. 

Felix did not stop trailing his fingers across Dimitri's golden strands as he listened to Dimitri's rhythmic, gentle breathing. He wondered about that dream Dimitri may have had, the one where everyone had died except for himself. What kind of life would he be leading if he had left Dimitri to his demons long ago? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. He cared about this man. 

When he was sure that Dimitri had fallen into a deep slumber, he leaned down and pressed a kiss into Dimitri's temple. "Idiot. I love you too." 

***

Dedue can come looking for Dimitri when he had heard that Felix had spontaneously cancelled all of Dimitri's activities and whisked him away. When he had found them, he had planned to scold Felix. 

But upon opening the door to the lounge, he found instead the two sleeping peacefully on the sofa. Dimitri was curled on the cushions, his head in Felix's lap, while Felix rested against the sofa's arm, his hand combed through Dimitri's hair. Faint smiles were on both of their lips. 

And so Dedue closed the door, and let the moon and shield slumber.


End file.
